Superpill adds YEARS to life - could save MILLIONS of people, say experts

MILLIONS of Britons should be taking a superpill that will add years to their lives, experts said last night.

Is the elixir of life in this superpill - promised to save millions of lives?[GETTY]

Scientists are calling for the four-in-one drug to be licensed across the world after the most advanced trials yet offered fresh hope to people at risk of heart disease.

The cheap wonder pill replaces the need to take a cocktail of drugs for the killer condition.

Leaders of the study say it will be a game-changer in slashing heart disease, with “considerable potential to improve global health”.

Test results from more than 3,000 patients – many in the UK – were “significant”, they said.

The polypill, which combines two blood ­pressure drugs, statins and aspirin, was found to lower cholesterol and hypertension.

Cardiovascular disease is the world’s biggest killer and 180,000 Britons die from it every year.

The problem is made even worse by patients failing to take prescribed medication.

Research presented to the World Heart ­Federation showed people were more likely to remember to take a single, fixed-dose pill than four separate medicines.

More than three-quarters of those at high risk of a heart attack were still taking the single pill after a year compared with just over half of patients on a daily combination of drugs.

New four-in-one pill could add years to the lives of patients, scientists have said [GETTY]

Most patients either don’t start or don’t continue taking all the medications they need, which can lead to untimely death or further cardiovascular events.

Ruth Webster

Blood pressure and cholesterol fell by a “modest but highly statistically significant” amount among the polypill users compared with patients on standard treatments.

Ruth Webster, of the George Institute for Global Health in ­Sydney which led research, said: “Most patients either don’t start or don’t continue taking all the medications they need, which can lead to untimely death or further cardiovascular events.

“On an individual level they may not make a massive difference – compared with four separate pills – but on a population level when you’re talking about 100 million people globally who aren’t taking their medication as they should then it could start to become significant.”

She said the largest benefits of the pill were seen in patients not currently receiving all recommended medications – which means most cardiovascular disease patients around the world.

“We now have the most comprehensive analysis of this treatment strategy in high-risk patients. There is considerable potential to improve global health,” said Ms Webster.

Professor Salim Yusuf, of the World Heart Federation, said: “These results emphasise the importance of the polypill as a foundation for a global strategy on ­cardiovascular disease prevention.

“It will improve patient access to essential medications at an affordable cost and wide use of the polypill can avoid several millions of premature cardiovascular events.”

It is hoped a polypill, costing as little as £1 each, could be available within two years after research suggested it would be markedly cheaper than continuing to prescribe multiple drugs.

The timing of the Space project – Single Pill to Avert Cardiovascular Events – could prove crucial as debate continues to rage over whether everyone aged 55 and over should automatically take a polypill as a precaution.

Researchers have long been ­looking at the prospect of a ­combined pill.

Millions of people in Britain already take separate pills daily to cut their risk of stroke or heart disease.

But many of the 2.3 million Britons who suffer from the disease find the combination of different tablets difficult and often stop taking them altogether.

Globally, half of the people who have suffered a heart attack or stroke are not on any medication.

Scientists are confident that combining ­several drugs in one pill will encourage medication to be taken more reliably. But despite also being cheaper, the polypill remains ­unlicensed in Britain because ­aspirin can cause gastric bleeding, sparking fears about blanket ­prescription to people in late ­middle-age.

Low-level doses of aspirin with a reduced risk of blood clotting have been prescribed for years to stave off heart attacks and strokes.

Meanwhile, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has changed its guidance to suggest that millions more people could benefit from statins.

This follows trials showing they slashed cholesterol, even for those at low risk of heart disease.